Friday, February 7, 2014



Today we arrived at the Ndhovu Camp Lodge .  It is a tented camp with all the necessities of home( if you like camping in the African rainy season) . We are right on the Okavango River, overlooking the well known Caprivi Game Park. Our tent is well equipped even down to electricity and a coffee perk. The bathroom facilities are unique – attached by a 1 meter outdoor walk. Dinner was a surprise as we walked into the lodge to find a beautifully set dinner table with linen napkins and beautiful African painted dishes. We dined on oryx (a larger antelope) schnitzel last night and it was great – served along with local squash type veggies, potatoes and home baked bread.
     This morning we were fortunate to visit a local community and their school. One of the camp workers lives nearby and opens his home to visitors. Each home is fenced in with 10 feet tall reed  grass and there may be a single or extended family living inside. The land is very sandy but the home area was well swept and growing with plants to eat. The children slept in one hut, one was a kitchen, a third was for visitors and the last the main home for the couple. This family had electricity in their main home and even a tv.  Their  garden with corn, beans and squash was outside the compound and well tended. We totally enjoyed the school and all the children who were outside racing – they referred to it as their athletic days. They were singing the entire time we were there and the enthusiasm was contagious. Classrooms had the bare necessities but we saw English, Math and Geography books. Each classroom had a chalk board but very few other teaching materials. 

                         Visiting with the children at a nearby home
                   The children's home with seperate unattached rooms
                              Children at a nearby school
 Tried to get Murray to wrestle with him but at the last moment he chickened out
                   Not a happy fellow with us so close

3 comments:

  1. Loving the photos (and the writing too, of course!) Those children are so sweet! So, you mention English books- the children can speak some English? Did they converse with you? And wow - that croc looks like one mean dude. I wouldn't want to "tempt" him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is like falling into a zoo!! Amazing all the animals you have seen! And your pictures are fantastic. Thanks for all the updates. Enjoying your trip with you!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your blog is wonderful! Such incredible photos and your journal of experiences is so rich. I can just imagine that you two school teachers would have been fascinated with the school and the kids! Don't get so close to those hippos - they look really scary! Keep having fun! xoxox

    ReplyDelete